The Road to Ely…
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13th March 2010
Sawston V Datchworth II’s (Green King Super Premier Cup Semi-Final)
A strong finish, although preceded by a slow start, was enough to see off Datchworth on Saturday and set up a mouth-watering clash against Bishop’s Stortford in the final of the prestigious Super Premier Cup. Hosted for the first time by Ely rugby club, finals day promises to be an event not to be missed. All cups and plate finals are contested on the same day in the same place so make sure you get 24th April in your diary to enjoy the festival atmosphere.
Sawston’s slow start to the match can be justified, if not excused, by the 3 week gap since their previous fixture. Perhaps a little undercooked for the game, it was not a surprise that the Datchworth forwards took the early spoils as Sawston forwards struggled to get to the breakdown as quickly as their fired up opponents. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though as Sawston began to show signs of promise. With the set pieces performing well early on, Sawston started to make some progress.
It was a little upsetting then when Datchworth took first blood through a strong finish from their bullish no. 8. He deservedly drove through 2 tackles at the end of a couple of hard fought phases in Sawston territory. Regrouping under the posts, Sawston finally woke themselves up and took the game to Datchworth in the latter part of the half.
Calamitously their renewed passion resulted in a number of penalties for a range of offences from the now monotonously familiar “hands in the ruck” to the equally frequent but less often punished “tackle off the ball”. These indiscretions prematurely ended most attacks and even provided the visiting kicker with a couple of pops at the Sawston posts. After the defecit was extended to 10-0 Sawston responded to a stirring team talk from Pete to cut down on crippling penalties and receive their first reward for their afternoons toil. A penalty from the imperious Jay took the score to 10-3 and after squandering a couple of two on one opportunities, that is how it stayed until half-time.
There was no doubt that the talented Datchworth back row had given them the edge in the first half but Sawston knew, from their previous meetings, that they would tire towards the end. The added confidence of a stiff tail wind and the infamous Sawston slope meant they had every reason to optimistic for the second half.
It’s just a shame then that the team were brought swiftly back down to earth early in the period as a second late tackle proved to be the final straw for the referee, who instantly sent Chris to the sin bin for 10 minutes. As Chris’ first offence he essentially paid the price for the entire team’s indiscipline and poor relationship with the referee.
As it turns out, the decision seemed to be the shot in the arm that the team needed, prompting a more focused and simplified approach from the home team. Callum finally profited from an excellent scrum and well worked backs move to score in the corner. Such was Jamie’s movement at fly-half and with the effectiveness of the dummy running from Ben and H, when Jamie did make the pass to Callum he enjoyed an easy run into the corner. Bizarrely, despite the one man disadvantage Sawston had managed to create a two man overlap! 10-10.
Sawston weathered the rest of the 10 minute disadvantage and started to look like taking control of the game. With Chris back on the pitch, an even better back’s move resulted in the teams 2nd try. It was another excellent platform provided by the forwards as they enjoyed the upper-hand, if not their usual complete dominance, in the scrum - leaving Jay with yet more time to cause damage and create space. Multiple passes, dummy runs and one of the first successful executions of the two on one move we’ve practiced so often in training, left me with an easy dot down in the corner. 17-10.
As the Datchworth forwards began to tire, the dangerous no 8. started to flop off the back of scrums rather than drive with his original intent, the game opened up. Sawston again having the better of the play but as you would expect from the grizzly Datchworth team, they weren’t going to give up without a fight. Another conceded penalty in their own 22 from Sawston, this time for crossing, gave the flagging opposition forwards the motivation they needed to get the equalising score. A strong drive 5m out from one of their burly forward pack and an excellent conversion under pressure, levelled the game with 3 minutes to go. 17-17.
With extra time on the cards, Sawston were feeling a little perplexed as to how they had not controlled the scoreboard as had other areas of the game. Fortunately a last minute score stole Datchworth’s chance of joining the lottery of extra time and sudden death. New boy Liam made the initial break followed by excellent support from H providing Chris with the opportunity to redeem himself (and the team) with a last minute try under the posts.
Sawston will perhaps be a little disappointed to have not reached the performance levels of earlier in the season but will be pleased nonetheless to get to their first Super Premier Cup final. The challenge for the team and players now is to capitalise on this success by redoubling efforts in training.
Final Score 24-17
Team: Dan O, Callum, Chris S, H, Mad Ben, Jay, Ash, Pete, Wilf, Beasty, Nudger, Theo, Don, Dan F, Robin.
Subs: James for Beasty, Liam for Nudger.
Tries: Callum, Dan O, Chris S
Pens: Jay
Cons: Jay 3
Sawston Star Man
Dan Fordham was superb throughout, as his mobility and fitness meant he was often the first Sawston head into the breakdown. Pete had an excellent game in the front row, but often his most telling contributions are his measured team talks under the posts. He provides excellent leadership and a calm head when others around him are losing theirs.
For his strength, distribution and adherence to the game plan Jamie takes the honours for the second week in a row. He had a 100% kicking record, including two impressive conversions from the touchline, and was involved heavily in all 3 tries.
The small print
My new more politically correct approach means there is no need for small print anymore, except perhaps to say that my account of the match is only as good as my memory of it. Given that all games are generally followed by heavy drinking I apologise for any inaccuracies in my recollection.
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Dates for your diary...
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